Wentworth secrets exposed as ‘The Freak’ is buried alive

What comes next after one of the most horrifying moments on Aussie TV
- byNew Idea

23 Jun
2017

Wentworth / Foxtel / SoHo - supplied

It’s the season finale that has left Wentworth fans shocked and disturbed – with scenes of former prison governor Joan ‘The Freak’ Ferguson buried alive, facing an implied horrific death six feet under.

She's seriously going to regret crawling into that box

Wentworth / Foxtel / SoHo - supplied

So is she gone forever, or isn’t she? With Uma Thurman escaping a startlingly similar fate in Kill Bill, anything can happen in the world of fiction!

When Wentworth executive producer Jo Porter was asked by News Ltd about the character’s future, she gave an interesting response.

‘Look, if anyone could (get out of the grave) it could be the at times superhuman Joan Ferguson!,’ she told news.com.au.

‘It’s definitely a storyline that continues on into season six. Series five’s theme was revenge.

‘The final episode contained a bittersweet retribution for Bea Smith. The aftermath of the finale’s events will continue on into the next chapter of Wentworth.’

If The Freak thought her hanging was bad...

Wentworth / Foxtel / SoHo - supplied

Porter offered some further insight into how The Freak’s fate will have a major impact on the show moving forward, while praising actress Pamela Rabe’s work.

‘Pamela Rabe has once again given a masterclass in performance across the whole of series five,’ she said. ‘One of Pamela’s great skills is to imbue Ferguson with humanity - despite some pretty villainous acts, her nuanced performance provides tantalising flashes of the buried broken soul of Ferguson.’

What are you doing Mr Jackson? Image: Soho/Foxtel/Wentworth

Pamela herself has recently spoken about relishing her character’s rollercoaster ride from prison governor, to brutalized victim, to top dog and beyond.

‘She is trying to save her skin in this environment where everyone wants her dead,’ she told Stuff.co.nz. ‘She has a job to do and that is to terrify the bejesus out of everybody.

‘There are people who get other people to do their dirty work so they're kind of quiet, still manipulators. However, because of the events that have happened in subsequent seasons of Wentworth, Joan has been required to adapt to the environment and it's getting increasingly more physically dangerous and she's having to reach into her bag to come up with strategies to maintain some kind of control and power.

‘This involves her becoming more and more unhinged. She's started to unmoor herself from the stabilising things in her life. She's resorting more and more to pretty extraordinary physical attacks to achieve her objectives. She's a terror’